As in guillotine...

Spinning Dominoes: Don’t Believe the Hype… But DO Learn From It

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:November 30, 2011
Post category:Media
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Not quite one year to the day it was announced, Seth Godin is shutting The Domino Project down, offering the awkward explanation that "it was a project, not a lifelong commitment to being a publisher of books," instead of, perhaps, admitting that publishing is harder than it looks if you want to swim at the deep end of the trade pool in the middle of a dramatic transition, as he obliquely acknowledges in many of his noteworthy takeaways.

Entry Points, Accessibility and Transmedia Potential

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:November 13, 2011
Post category:Media Personal Reviews
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It will be interesting to see what other publisher can successfully go the Marvel route; with a $2B+ worldwide box office already in for the Avengers' on-screen storyworld (one that still bizarrely lives in total isolation from the comics), I'm guessing several will make the attempt within the next 2-3 years. Two gaming franchises I think have some serious transmedia potential are Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls and Activision's Skylanders, though you might be surprised by which one I think has the most potential.

6Qs: Alex de Campi, Comics Innovator and Provocateur

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:November 4, 2011
Post category:Media
Post comments:2 Comments

We are not anywhere near the digital future yet with comics. There is so much exciting ground to be staked out! We just need a new publisher, or a collective of coders, comic writers, and artists. I think the latter is more likely than the former.

Realms of Fantasy Probably Can’t be Saved

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:November 2, 2011
Post category:Media
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I casually followed the transition for a couple of months before losing interest, and was disappointed to check in last week to find an uninspired website and social media presence, and PDF-only digital editions. I also realized I hadn't noticed the magazine on the newsstands in months.

Richard Nash on Cursor and the “F” Word

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:October 31, 2011
Post category:Media
Post comments:2 Comments

Nash took an honest shot at something he believed in and, more importantly, maintained his integrity throughout the process. While neither Cursor nor Red Lemonade ended up being the "game changers" some thought they might be, one could argue (and so I will) that the publishing industry overall is stronger for the attempt, and what *did* work shouldn't be lost in the discussion.

The Problem With Klout? It Has None

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:October 28, 2011
Post category:Media
Post comments:6 Comments

Therein lies the real problem with Klout. While its Topics feature is an intriguing attempt to add a much-needed contextual layer to its linear scoring and might have some long-term potential (most likely as acquisition bait, to complement PostRank or Radian6?), overall, it's a pretty useless, Foursquare-style gamification of the worst aspects of Social MEdia.

The Truth About Disruption in Publishing

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:October 26, 2011
Post category:Media
Post comments:3 Comments

In publishing, every day it seems there's a new upstart or three that's going to disintermediate (or even better, KILL!) traditional publishers, but with the exceptions of Open Road Integrated Media and, possibly, Ruckus Media Group -- notably, both are run by major publishing veterans and have partnerships with a variety of "traditional" publishers -- you'd be hard-pressed to name too many others that have had any truly notable impact to match the hype surrounding them.